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fortasse Inner circle 1201 Posts |
Josh : won't set a precedent for me because the C&B is always my CLOSING number!
Fortasse |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts |
How can you have a closing number in an informal presentation?
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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fortasse Inner circle 1201 Posts |
One or two card tricks, a vanish with a tt, a scotch n' soda routine possibly, followed by the C&B as my "closing number". Always a very informal setting, always for family and/or close friends only, usually after dinner at my home, usually after being coaxed into doing a trick or two.
Fortasse |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts |
Sounds formal to me.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Josh the Superfluous Inner circle The man of 1881 Posts |
Fortasse, It's my closer to. I get what you're saying.
What do you want in a site? "Honesty, integrity and decency." -Mike Doogan
"I hate it, I hate my ironic lovechild. I didn't even have anything to do with it" Josh #2 |
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Roland Henning Special user Kiel, Germany 511 Posts |
I always let them look at the cups. I use that dead time to make my pitch. If it is a paid gig I do a quick blendo effect.
But I think it is really important, that my audience knows, that it is not the cups, that do the magic, but me. Letting the audience know that, gives me much more money in the hat. |
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aiki Regular user Middletown NY 181 Posts |
Many times a street perform will pass out the cups to act as an anchor for the audience. The street perfroms will pass out the cups to three different people, preferably people that are with a group of people. This way they can hold three different groups to their pitch while they finish building the crowd for the end of the show. The more people they have at the end of the show the better the hat so anything that helps hold people they use to their advantage. Some street performers pass out the cups at the start of the show to keep the people and their respective groups through the whole show, and then at the end of the show they ask for the cups back so that they can do their big finish.
The street performer is not trying to prove that the cups are not fake they are just building the crowd. I think for most other types of performers there is no real need to pass out the cups, unless you are trying to connect with a large audience on a more one on one level.
Ray K.
Till we meet again! |
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MagiUlysses Special user Kansas City 504 Posts |
Greetings and Salutations,
I do the C&Bs on the lanes at RenFests and almost always hand out the cups for inspection -- the only time I don't -- perversely -- is when the crowd is too small and I want to wrap up my set quick and gather up the next tip. When I hand out the cups, most of the time, I will work my way from audience left to right, handing a cup to someone who is part of at least a couple -- as noted above, if that person is part of a group so much the better. While handing out the cups I have a patter about what they're supposed to be looking for, e.g., trap doors, little people, smoke and mirrors, bit of business, etc., and patter about the kinds of materials that cups have historically be made up, e.g., glass, brass, wood, etc., and then immediately retrieve the cups and move back to "center stage." It works for me because it's routined into my act, and can give me another "minute or two" to gather in my crowd a little tighter. Do hand them out or don't, just have a reason for doing it or not, IMHO. Just my $.02 (USD) worth. YMMV. Joe Zeman aka The Mage Ulysses |
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doug brewer V.I.P. 1142 Posts |
I agree with Bill on the "inspecting everything" - just too big a distraction. But in the cups and balls (strolling, or close-up environment here!) I have them look at them in the beginning and after the first sequence (balls disappear one at a time and reappear under the cups). In fact, I almost insist they "put their hand in the cup and make sure nothing is in there to make the ball stick", "no blue tack or chewing gum on the top". Of course, this has nothing to do with it, but I've had time after time again where if I didn't do this, and the potatoes appear at the end, they will think they were in there all along (like stuck inside the top or something). Weird but true. So I insist now . . .
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts |
I think one useful possibility would be to give out the cups even before you go into the cups and balls routine. Hand one to a spectator and say, "Hold this for me for a few minutes, please." Do the same with the other two cups.
Then when you are ready to do the cups, collect them and do the routine.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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Mobius303 Inner circle Lakewood, Ohio 1309 Posts |
Why not do what Johnny Thompson and others from the past have done and make them handling the cups a part of the routine.
For example ....cups through cup ...hand it to a helper spectator as you do the second cup ...any guile here? sip ...none now ...End of routine ends with a shot full of liquid to the line "Guess I didn't get all the guile outta that one." I think how you address the spectators into the routines is simple to do and goes quite a long way to sell the efect. I have heard spectators say that :I have examined the cups and he still fooled me, amazing." Some magicians think too much about that which should be simple or easy to follow for the spectators. Your complicated routines shouldn't look complicated in effect to any specatators. Keep it simple, keep it real. Later, Mobius |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts |
Excellent point. If you keep everything as simple as possible, then you will fool and entertain them. If you make it confusing, then that's all it will be.
All good magic is like that. That's one reason I don't really find the idea of combining the dollar bill in the lemon with the final load in a cups and balls or Benson bowl routine. It just doesn't work for me. But it does work for Lance Pierce, so I won't argue with that.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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walid ahumada Special user sinaloa, mexico 892 Posts |
Indeed, keep it simple, maybe wand through cup, cup through cup, 3 or 4 phases and 3 final loads.
“Magic becomes art when it has nothing to hide.” BEN OKRI quote
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Count Lustig Elite user 456 Posts |
Quote:
On 2006-12-26 11:46, Bill Palmer wrote: I would think that doing the Vernon bit makes handing the cups out for inspection more valuable. Passing the wand through the cup is only amazing if the audience knows that the cup is not gimmicked in such a way as to allow the wand to pass through. It’s like doing the old “rubber pencil” gag. It’s only means something if the audience knows that the pencil is not really made of rubber. |
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fortasse Inner circle 1201 Posts |
Excellent point.
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Richard Evans Inner circle 1379 Posts |
It's all down to personal preference, as long as it doesn't get in the way of the routine.
One of the problems with spectators handling the cups is deciding whether to allow them to do so at the beginning (when you may want to conceal a 4th ball under a cup), or at the end (when someone might run off with your silver Sherwoods ) I would only let them handle the cups if the cups & balls is used as a closer: there's no point setting a precedent at the beginning of an act, or they'll expect to be able to examine everything.
I have six locks on my door all in a row. When I go out, I only lock every other one. I figure no matter how long somebody stands there picking the locks, they are always locking three. Elayne Boosler
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fortasse Inner circle 1201 Posts |
I agree entirely that handing out the cups for inspection sets a bad precedent UNLESS it's done as part of, or as the prelude to, a closing number. In the case of the latter, I think there is much to commend it...but to each his own!
Posted: Dec 28, 2006 6:28pm Incidentally, I wonder how many others usually end a performance with a C&B routine. |
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24314 Posts |
76.3
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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rickmagic1 Inner circle MIddle Tennessee area 1546 Posts |
I've been ending my show with my new cups and balls routine for about 3 months now. Not one time have I handed the cups out for examination, and not one time has anyone asked to see them. It never fails to elicit an incredible response!
BTW...I've seen Ricky Jay end his show with the cups and balls. He doesn't hand them out and the audience gasps and finally erupts into applause at the end of the routine! Am I comparing myself to Ricky? No. But I am saying that to say that something "has to be done" or "can't be done" is a ridiculous argument. I've seen some of the greats in this business discuss how something couldn't be done, then go out night after night and do it in their show and get tremendous responses. Why? Because though there are rules, they aren't laws...and if you're good enough, you can bend the rule to fit your needs and make what you're doing even stronger... Rick
Richard Green
The Modern Conjurer Coming soon: Victorian Secrets: An Evening With The Spirits! |
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Jerrine Special user Busking is work. 629 Posts |
I prefer to tell them to hand over their money for inspection.
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